“I take it you like what you do.”
“It can be a hassle sometimes, just like any job. But I like putting things together. It’s therapeutic. And peaceful. I’ve been lucky, got some good word of mouth and the business has been steady. As you probably know, there’s a lot of money in this area. Even before you came.”
“So I understand. I’m glad your career change has worked out.”
He sat back while he digested her words, his lips pursed, his hands balled up into fists, but not in a threatening way.
He chuckled. “Let me guess, you heard that I was either a CIA operative or an international assassin who abruptly decided to chuck all that and take up hammering and sawing in more placid surroundings.”
“Actually, I hadn’t heard the assassin angle.”
They exchanged brief smiles.
“You know if you just told people the truth, they’d stop speculating.” She couldn’t believe she had just made that statement, but there it was. She looked at him with what she hoped was an air of complete innocence.
“You’re assuming that I care if people speculate about me. I don’t.”
“That’s beneath you, I take it.”
“If I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that you don’t worry about what other people think or say. You worry about yourself and that’s good enough. Otherwise you’re setting yourself up to be a basket case. People can be cruel. Especially people who supposedly cared about you. Believe me, I speak from experience.”
“I take it the divorce wasn’t exactly amicable?”
He didn’t look at her when he spoke. “I’m not taking anything away from you, but sometimes losing a spouse isn’t as traumatic or painful as going through a divorce. They each have their own degrees of hurt, I guess.”
He looked down at his hands. There was a definite ring of sincerity in his words and LuAnn felt instant guilt that she in fact had not been widowed, at least not by the falsehood of losing a wealthy husband. It was as though he were baring his wounds in return for LuAnn baring hers. As usual, it was all lies on her part. Could she even speak the truth anymore? In fact how could she? Speaking the truth would destroy her, all the lies would immediately fall to earth like those old buildings demolished by explosives that caused them to implode.
“I can understand that,” she said.
Riggs didn’t appear inclined to continue.
LuAnn finally looked at her watch. “Lunch should be just about ready. I thought after we eat you could look at a site at the rear grounds where I’m thinking of having you build a small studio.” She stood up and Riggs did too. He appeared immeasurably relieved that this particular conversation was over.
“That sounds good, Catherine. In my business, work is always welcome.”
As they walked to the rear of the house, Charlie joined them. The two men shook hands. “Glad to see you again, Matt. I hope you’re hungry. Sally usually puts out a good spread.”
Lunch was devoted to enjoying the food and drink and discussing innocuous subjects of local interest. However, there was an energy between Charlie and Catherine Savage that was unmistakable to Riggs. A strong bond, he concluded. Unbreakable, in fact. They were family, after all.
“So what’re we looking at timewise on the fence, Matt?” Charlie asked. He and Riggs were on the rear terrace overlooking the grounds. Lunch was over and LuAnn had gone to pick up Lisa. School had ended early because of a scheduled teacher workshop. She had asked Riggs to remain until she returned so they could talk about the studio construction. Riggs wondered if her going to get Lisa had been a deliberate maneuver to leave Charlie behind to pump him for information. Whatever the reason, he remained on guard.
Before Riggs had a chance to answer him about the fence, Charlie extended a cigar. “You smoke these things?”
Riggs took it. “After a meal like that, and a gorgeous day like this, even if I didn’t, I’d be tempted.” He snipped off the end with a cutter Charlie handed him and they took a moment to get their respective smokes going.